A voice from the stars
by valancedom
Summary: Back and better after a long absence! post End of Evangelion,as shinji and asuka struggle to survive,a seemingly unrelated incident sends the Explorer IV to earth bringing a voice from the stars.First fanfic so please review as any comment is appreciated
1. Prolouge: A voice from the stars

Excerpt From the diary of Ja'Ren  
  
New Millennium (N.M.) 3106  
  
Explorer IV archives.  
  
"The distress signal came from an uncharted sector of space, The probe was damaged and appeared to be at least 50 years old. At the time, the archaic nature of delivery failed to attract much notice; it was common for crews in distress to rely upon older probes if the communications unit was damaged. But the garbled content of message did. I couldn't make heads or tails of it. Our only choice was to investigate the signal. It was one that would lead us to a ruined world.  
  
Prologue A voice from the stars  
  
N.M. 3102 August 7th  
  
Shinji Ikari looked up over the faint glow of the campfire, at the face of his sleeping sister. 'Sister? When did I start thinking about her like that?' he poked one of the logs with a piece of twisted metal they had found, the faint whisper of the wind the only sound in the silence. His eyes swelled with tears as memories of when he'd lived Misato came unbidden to his mind 'Damn you...!' his mind screamed silently at the man who had twice ruined his life; Gendo Ikari. 'Always alone... because of him. Did he take pleasure watching people suffer? Or was it simply a means to an end?' so many questions unanswered.  
  
His father had taken everyone he'd loved; Misato, Kaji and Rei. He'd loved her, he knew that now, he knew it was the reason she had appeared to him during the third impact, saving his sanity and his life. He remembered how happy he'd been when the five of them, along with PenPen, had gone to the beach for four weeks one summer, all of it gone now. 'We're truly alone now, we are all that's left alive on this god forsaken rock' he thought bitterly.  
  
Reaching around his neck he felt the comforting weight of the wooden cross. He still had Misato's rosary. Funny really, he'd never thought of her as a catholic. She'd certainly never gone to church. 'What does it matter now...'. "Shinji? You really should try to get some sleep" Asuka's whisper startled him "You awake?" "Yeah, it looks like your not the only one fond of staring" she said, the shadow of a grin lighting her face. She got up, gently pushed Shinji down, and then went back to her side of the campfire. "But seriously, try sleeping," she said with a soft sigh and then almost whispering, "Und Versuch, der die Sterne zählt, für sie ist die Engel, die Leben Wunder bringen... And try counting the stars, for they are the angels that bring miracles to life..." with that she turned over and fell asleep. Shinji starred at the stars, looking nowhere in particular, before he too at long last fell asleep. And if one could have seen across the borders of space and time, past our own universe, then they would have seen, in the middle of a nebula, the graceful form of an Explorer.  
  
Aboard the Explorer IV  
  
In an unlit room stood a young man, arms clasped behind his back, the only light coming from the faint teal glow of the nebula around him. He moved slowly, as one lost in thought with just the faintest glimmer of a smile on his face. His thoughts were interrupted by soft footsteps and as the door opened he crossed his arms and leaned against the railing, smile growing as he watched the slender figure enter the room. "Knew I'd find you here Ja'Ren..." said the figure as she stepped into the faint light, a wry grin on her face. "Hard day, eh?. You look like hell" he said as eyeing the circles under her eyes and slumped shoulders. " Wanna tell me about it Cass?" "Nothing unusual just a very long day. Mostly red tape... sometimes I wish I could just kill those bureaucrats " "Same here, love" he said as he put an arm around his wife's shoulder. "What about you?" "Same shit different day. Ah the joys being in command" he said stroking his thin beard.  
  
They stayed that way for a while, bathed in the relaxing glow and enjoying each others company, neither saying a word. The sudden chirp of Cassandra's communicator interrupted the silence and the gruff voice of Harry Benton was heard by Ja'Ren. "Cassandra, is Ja'Ren with you?, cause I need both you up here right now. We've detected a distress signal"  
  
10 hours later  
  
The rumor about the distress signal had spread around the ship like wildfire, now the crew waited anxiously to hear the captains announcement. As the intercom crackled to life all movement aboard the ship ceased, the possible loss of an Explorer was a cause for serious concern. Many had family and friends serving in the corps. "As many have doubtless heard, about ten hours ago we detected a faint distress signal from an uncharted sector. The message was faint and very garbled, however we managed to retrieve the IDF coordinates. We know where the signal is coming from and as per standard procedure we will investigate and attempt to pick up any survivors" he announced "So now might be a good time to write your wills" he added with a grin. The crew couldn't help but chuckle, the young commander could have a twisted sense of humor at times. He was a man whom they knew they could trust their lives to. When he had arrived two years ago, at age 26, they had been skeptical at the prospect of someone so young as captain. But in the two years since then he had earned the love and respect of his crew. Though anxious no one doubted his abilities as commander.  
  
Signing off, Ja'Ren let out a sigh of exhaustion. The faint message didn't make any sense, and the coding was of a type that went out of use 50 years ago. He slumped down in a chair, his head resting in his hands, he simply couldn't get the strange message out of his mind: "Third Impact............[static].........madman, evangeli.........[static]...crash...............year.........angel.........ner...Hel.........[static]" -----END TRANSMISSION 


	2. Once upon a time

Chapter 2: Once upon a time...

NM 3102 June 10th 11:49 PM

Excerpt from the Diary of Ja'Ren

"Everywhere I look I see nothing but reminders of death and sorrow. Ruined cities, a ghostly silence, not even a bird in the air. This place wearies my soul."

NM 3102 June 11th 6:03 PM

Ja'Ren couldn't help but grimace as he took a bite out of a ration. _Damn! This tastes like a leftover from the Amaris coup! _For two weeks now, he had been personally scouting the area and observing the two 'survivors' as he had taken to calling the two children. Survivors of what, he couldn't even begin to imagine. Looking through his binoculars he saw observed the children heading towards the ruins of city. They were heading along the coastline, faces solemn, seeming to hardly utter a word. The sun was already setting in the east and the effect of them silhouetted against the ocean reminded him of some cheesy western. _Except that they are the only survivors of what until recently had been a planet of 3 to 4 billion, judging from the size of the cities._ The chill wind rippled through him, causing him to draw his coat tighter around him. He turned away from the sight at the thought of what the sea was made of. Shortly after their arrival, he'd noticed Wign walking around with a very satisfied grin on her elfin features. A couple of days later, he realized why. He had been walking along the beach near the landing zone trying to identify the faint smell of iron in the air when, stopping to wash the sand off his boots in the surf, he'd realized why. When Cassandra had gotten off duty two hours later, she'd found a trail of bloody footprints leading to the bathroom and Ja'Ren hunched over the toilet retching. A literal 'sea of blood'. _Now I know why Wign was so happy, that little Dhamp _he thought. Something sick and terrible had happened to this world. A place where all that was left alive were two children and the remains of a great civilization everywhere. Not to meantion that the worlds oceans were made of blood. And despite the incomprehensible nature of this world, he had the sick feeling in his gut that it was the work of one man alone. Only time would tell how right he was in that thought. With that final thought, he put down his binoculars and headed towards the city. He should be able to get a closer and more comfortable vantage point from there.

"Asuka, Do you ever get the feeling that we're being watched?" Asuka turned her head around to look at her brother, a worry evident in her eyes. _This is the second time this week that he's asked me that. Why? He knows just as well as I do that we're the only ones left. _"Shinji… I'm sorry but you know just as well as I do that we are last people on earth." He looked at her with despaire in his eyes, prompting her to pull him in a tight embrace, lending him what emotional support she could, while at the same time letting some of her own exhaustion go. The simple act of touching lending them the strength to go on. They walked like this for some time, neither wanting to let go. But finally, they reached the remains of the supermarket and the neccessity of survival took over. Moving rocks and rubble with only the most primitive of tools and focused so intently on finding the base necessities of survival, they failed to realize the danger they were in until it was too late. For while the world was dead, the laws of nature still applied and especially the law of gravity was no exception. Instead Shinji's eye was caught by movement in the distance and Asuka's own gaze was drawn in the same direction. By the time they noticed the shadow looming over them, there was no escape.

_Shit! I've got to get them out of there!_ Without hesitation he rushed out from behind his cover to try to reached the two kids. It seemed like time was almost at a standstill as he sprinted towards them. He could see their eyes widen with shock and amazement, then switch to horror and realization as the first pebbles began to fall and the shadow loomed over them. His legs were burning from the sprinting and still he kept moving faster. The creak of the steel girders seemed to last an eternity as the building slowly started to bend over like the jaws of some monster closing in for the kill. Reaching into a pocked and almost losing his balance as a result he grabbed a stim shot and stuck it into his leg. His whole being felt like it was on fire while his movements gained an almost inhumane speed.

For both children it was more the shock of seeing another human being than anything else that caused them to lose those few key seconds to paralysis. They could here him shouting something in some foreign language, reach into a pocket and stick himself with something once, then twice, and then a third time, before the realization of the danger they were in to spur them into action.

_Screw the side effects!!! If I don't reach them then they won't make it! _Pulling out another one, he felt a new surge of pain in his body from the effects of the second stim pack and an almost unbearable pain from the third. Yet his movements and reflexes increased in direct proportion to the pain. Even in this compressed time environment his legs were a blur. He reached them just as the stones were starting to fall down on their heads and extending his arms he knocked both of them out of the way and into some steel girders before he himself got out of the way.

_What the?!!!_ Shiji's last consious expression was of pain and shock as he felt an impact like a pile driver slam him face first into a crumbling wall and see Asuka fly head first into a pile of steel girders.

"THIS IS A CODE DELTA ECHO SIGMA!!!!! NEED EMEDIATE MEDICAL TRANSPORT FOR THER-ER-REE CANCEL THAT I MEAN THRREEE PATIENTS!!!.. THIIIIIISSSS ISSSS YOUOUOUOR CaPERTtaIN SSsssPPPPPEaaakING…

Chief emergency ward communications (CHEWCOM) duty officer Clarissa Sanders almost had her ears blasted off at the sound of the captains shouting. As his voice and speach slurred she immediately recognized the nature of the emergency. _Motherfucking asshole! He must have used two or three stim packs! The asshole!!! _"Beverly, Thompson, Nakamura, Bonzai, Get moving to the commanders last known position while we trace his call. Beverly, contact the Flying Circus and have them load up on supplies. If they don't have room, have them dump the ammunition into the ocean. I don't care if their on patrol just get it moving!" Tearing off her headset she rushed to the triad. "Kris, Get Schiechl and Zink on over to the other operating rooms we are going to have three patients coming in here, in a bad way. You will set up a fourth one for dealing with any injuries our good captain inflicts on the medical staff while under the influence. Nichols, I want you to follow Kristof and provide assistance for him as needed. Is that clear? Then lets move it peoples!

Chapter 4 Renaissance (rebirth)


End file.
